A Lot Of Oneshots
by TwinPhoenixOfDark
Summary: A collection of random Merlin one-shots I have, uh, randomly thought of! :D Spanning over a range of genres and involving a range of characters and themes. :D Some may also refer to my Merlin fic, 'Twist Of Fate'. Enjoy! *I take requests*


**So whilst thinking up a new chapter for my Merlin fic, **_**Twist of Fate, **_**this one-shot just randomly came to me. I kept thinking of loads of "what-ifs" and I thought, "What if Kaitlyn's parents never died… What if she grew up in Camelot rather than with the druids?" and ta-da, I came up with this. An insight into the life of Lady Kaitlyn Maiya Sienhagen had her parents survived. It was initially only going to be the first memory I've written but more and more just came to me... XD I'm thinking I may do an alternative fic once I've finished the one I'm writing in which she did grow up in Camelot… I don't know, I'll see what ideas I get. ;) I've had a couple of other "what if" fic ideas, haha. **_**Let's hope that I someday finally get round to writing 'em all, huh?**_

**Oh, btw. I'll be posting up all sorts of Merlin one-shots on here, not just ones based around my OC, Kaitlyn or my fic at all. Anything that comes to me, really.**

**In this one, the POV changes depending on which character I'm focusing more on. I suck so hopefully you can tell. xD None of it is in the first person though. I'm not making it THAT confusing!**

**Anyway! My first one. Enjoy. :D**

**Genre: Romance/Friendship**

**Rating: T**

**Character: Arthur Pendragon**

Memories

Kaitlyn watched him as he stripped off his jacket, preparing to dive into the water of the lake only a few feet away from her. She was sat on the ground, resting her head on her bare knees, the short strands of her hair tickling her flesh. He looked back at her and gave her a smile, which she returned whilst shaking her head a little.

She told him it was no big deal; it's not like that little bracelet had been particularly valuable. They'd been walking and it had caught onto a tree branch when he had stretched his arms. As a result it had fallen into the lake by the time he had noticed. He watched it float, drifting further away and beginning to sink a little. Being as charming as ever, the blonde had insisted on retrieving it; to him, it was a reminder of the childhood they spent together.

It had been Arthur's sixth birthday.

_A small, blonde boy was stood happily in front of his parents; today was an important day for him. It was his sixth birthday. His bright blue eyes were wide as he took in the sight before him, overwhelmed with how many people had turned up especially to see him. He wore a red tunic, which fit him perfectly; he was proud to wear his family's colours and on his head rested a small golden band symbolizing his status. He smiled, scanning the room whilst his father absent-mindedly ruffled his hair a little. His father had always been a little out-of-place on this day but Arthur could never figure out why. Sometimes, it made him a little sad to see him not sharing his happiness but other times he felt glad he tried to make him happy even if he, himself, wasn't completely._

_However, Arthur's grin dropped completely and became a frown when he noticed someone was missing._

_Turning to his dark-haired friend, he tugged on the sleeve of her green dress, whilst still surveying the grand hall, "'Gana… Why isn't Lyn here? And Kenai?"_

"_Ow! That hurt, Arthur!" She complained a little, wriggling her arms out of the older boy's grip. Fidgeting with the shoulder and neckline of her dress, she looked around the hall, "I don't know. Maybe she doesn't want to be your friend anymore… And Kenai's really ill," she nodded furiously knowingly. "He got ill and Uncle Gaius said he's not allowed to leave his room for a _long _time!"_

_Unsure as to whether she was being serious or simply teasing him, he turned to face her completely, sparkling eyes filled in concern, "No! Lyn is still my friend though. She wouldn't…"_

"_You _did _lose her doll…"_

_The young Prince sat back in the oversized chair and rested his head on the large, wooden table in front whilst his father continued to greet arriving guests. "But I said sorry… And I gave her my dragon…" He mumbled._

"_I don't think she likes dragons! Anyway, I am going to go and play with Owaine now."_

_He heard Morgana's footsteps as she walked away from him, heading in the direction of a boy a little younger than himself. However, when Arthur looked up, he was surprised to say the least. He immediately sat up, seeing Lady Maiya and Lord Rian._

"_Aunt Maiya! Uncle Rian!" Suddenly his hopes were rising._

"_Happy Birthday Arthur," Lady Maiya smiled and kissed his head and placed a neatly wrapped package with the others he had received. She was a pretty young lady, still youthful in appearance; her eyes were a warm brown and her long, dark curls reached her waist, contrasting perfectly with her pale complexion._

_Her husband, Lord Rian was about a foot taller than her; a scar ran along his neck and Arthur knew the story behind It all too well. Rian wasn't as pale as his partner, the hard work and fighting having darkened his skin a little. In contrast, he had a lighter, woody-brown tone to his hair and his eyes were green, the very same as Kaitlyn's and he wore a sincere smile. However, when Arthur looked at them, the person he hoped and expected to be with them, he couldn't see._

"_Thank-you. Um, where is Lyn?" He sat up a little, straining his neck to see if she was behind them or simply too small to be seen from where he was sat._

"_She'll be here shortly. She wanted to get something," Rian replied, reassuring the young boy._

_He nodded and the pair left him to converse with the other nobles. Arthur relaxed; he knew now that his friend would definitely show up and that she _was _still his friend and that she _did _like his dragon._

_And with that broad smile returned on his face, Arthur sat and waited._

_Almost an hour passed and the birthday boy was still sat and waiting whilst he munched away on a green apple. Aside from the greetings and "thank-you" s he had spoken to no one. When Morgana, Owaine, Isabelle and Marcus had asked him to play with them, he said he was waiting Kaitlyn to come and he was staying put until then but as the time passed his confidence was beginning to waver. He wanted his best friend to be here. Uncle Rian hadn't lied to him, had he?_

_A moment or two later, he nearly jumped in shock when he heard a familiar voice from behind him._

"_Happy Birthday Arthur!" came a cheerful, yet out-of-breath, female's voice as he felt her tugging on the sleeve of his tunic._

_He recognized her voice immediately and all but jumped off his seat to greet her properly. Looking at her, the smile reappeared on his face immediately. She was only a few inches shorter than himself. Her hair was long, her eyes bright and she wore a blue dress. A dress._

"_You're here!" he exclaimed, pleased._

_She laughed a little, "Of course I am, silly!" and she returned the childish embrace he had greeted her with. When they let go a moment later, she held out a small, velvet, green box for him, "I was looking for this. It's for you." Beaming, he carefully took the box from her but she stopped him when he was about to open it, "No! Don't open it here. You might lose it!" She squeezed her eyes shut, looking down, feeling a little embarrassed. _

_He stopped and looking at her he nodded, "Okay. Thank-you!" He gave her a quick, innocent kiss on the cheek._

_Kaitlyn tried her hardest not to blush but a faint pink tinge appeared on her cheeks._

_Later, when Arthur had been sent to bed, he sat on the pillow of his large, comfy bed, leaning against the head of the bed. His legs were outstretched in front of him, he was in his pale blue pyjamas, ready to go to bed but there was one thing left for him to do. Beside him was that same green, velvet box. He picked it up, excited. After a few attempts, he managed to successfully lift the lid off but it fell to the floor and landed underneath his bed. Without looking at the contents, the small boy lay on his front, the upper half of his body hanging over the edge of his body as he looked underneath, his hand blindly feeling for the lid. As a result of his wriggling, the box fell off and the contents fell out._

_The quiet thump as it hit the floor caught his attention and sitting up and sliding off the bed onto the floor, he picked it up. In his hands, he held a bracelet. It wasn't the kind that he had seen Morgana and the other girls often wearing; made of gold or silver with other pretty colours and stones, which would glisten in the sunlight._

_No. this was different. It was special; she had made it. It was made of fine strips of dark leather weaved together in an intricate pattern. It fit him perfectly._

_He put it on and he would never take it off._

_Arthur went to bed with a smile on his face._

Kaitlyn sat up, stretching her legs in front of her and straightening her red tunic as well as pulling up her dark breeches, which had gotten into an uncomfortable state for her. She looked ahead, to the lake, and saw him climb out of the water, the bracelet she had once given him back on his wrist. He looked at her, smiling triumphantly and walked towards her, sitting down, his figure still wet from having been in the lake.

_There were three children sat in the isolated courtyard of the grand, beautiful castle. The oldest was a blonde boy of eight years, the next a brown-haired boy, only a few months younger than the blonde and finally, a young girl of seven years. They were all friends but the situation was, as with children, going unintentionally out of hand._

_The blonde, Arthur, sat on the footsteps which lead into the halls of the castle whilst Marcus and Kaitlyn were talking about how Marcus would grow up and be an amazing knight._

_Kaitlyn turned to Arthur, looking wishful. He looked up at her, tilting his head a little to the side, looking at her questioningly._

"_Arthur! Uncle Uther said I can't be a knight," she said sadly. "When you're King… When you're King, you'll let me be a knight, won't you?"_

_Arthur smiled at her, "When I'm King, you'll be the best knight I have!"_

_Kaitlyn's expression turned to one of relief and joy, "Thank-you! You're going to be the best King ever!"_

_Marcus laughed and shoved Kaitlyn a little, playfully, "Don't be silly! You're a girl. You're not allowed to be a knight!"_

"_But…"_

_Arthur shot an angry look at him, "It doesn't matter! If Lyn wants to be a knight, then I'm going to make her a knight!"_

"_Then you'll make a lousy King!" Marcus shot back at him._

_Arthur's hands balled into fists, "No, I won't! I'm going to be the best King and you, _you're _just going to be a lousy knight!"_

_After that, Kaitlyn sat beside Arthur when Marcus had decided to leave, having felt a little offended but more angry at the young Prince's words._

She bowed her head a little and started played with the silver necklace she wore. It looked fairly simple and possessed half a lion's head, which rested just above her chest. She knew who had the other half of the head; her brother.

"_Kenai! You mustn't do that! If Uncle Uther finds out, he'll be so, so angry!" Kaitlyn was on the verge of tears._

_Her brother was in bed, injured, having fallen off his horse and into a thorn bush yet a green aura was surrounding him and his eyes kept switching from their usual green and a silver colour. It was scaring her because she knew all too well what this was and she didn't want it to be real._

"_I can't control it! It's just happening!"_

_Magic scared her._

_Uncle Uther had always taught them magic was evil but… She didn't want to believe it. There was no way her brother could be evil. She refused to believe it but the idea still lurked in the corner of her mind, haunting her._

_He was only eleven. What could he have done to deserve this? Suddenly, everything around her stopped shaking and the glowing stopped when the court physician Gaius entered the room. The tears were still running freely down her face when Gaius hugged her, telling her her brother would be okay._

_He had no idea._

_Kenai had fallen asleep. His silver necklace continued to glow that radiant green colour._

He brushed back her short, red-brown hair out of her face with his hands. It barely passed her shoulders; she regularly cut it so it rarely ever did reach the length where it would surpass her shoulders. A grin forced its way onto his face when he remembered the first time she had her hair short. An interesting memory to say the least, one which reminded him how Kaitlyn came to be who she is.

"_Kaitlyn, you can't do that! Mother and Father said it wouldn't look proper!" Kenai protested as his twin sister took out a dagger from her drawer._

_She was fourteen years of age now and sick of behaving like a typical female. She hated having her hair long, it always got in her way when she would be riding or training or doing anything for that matter. Her long hair _and _those long, itchy, irritating dresses; she had no intention to keep either. She traced her finger over the sharp, silver blade, knowing exactly what she would do with it. Taking hold of the light weapon, she put it into its small sheath and tucked it away, hidden on her person._

"_I can't do it here… There'd be too much of a mess…" she frowned, looking around, ignoring her brother's comments. "I'll have to do it outside but where no one can see, of course. Then they'd only try to stop me…"_

_She walked out of her chambers and strode down the halls confidently, her brother on her heels. She ran down the stairs and outside, startling a number of servants on the way. She was greeted with a huge breeze which blew her hair into her face. Frustrated, she did her best to push it away._

_Morgana asked Kenai when Kaitlyn passed her by, "Where's Kaitlyn going?"_

"_She's about to cut off her hair. Mother is going to be furious if we don't stop her."_

_Arthur nearly choked on the green apple he was eating and followed Morgana and Kenai, who followed Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn looked behind her to see a number of her friends following her and couldn't help but smirk. She felt the adrenaline pumping through her and was determined to do the job. She knew her mother would most likely _kill _her after all of this but frankly, she didn't care. She had a right to her own body, she believed. Kaitlyn found herself in one of the garden where no one else was and climbed up a tree. Her foot got caught in the hem of her dress and she almost screamed, nearly falling off but after a short while, she managed to successfully reach a reasonably high branch. She sat happily, swinging her legs cautiously enough so she didn't fall off and break her back. Taking out the dagger, she traced her fingers along the blade once more, smiling as her friends reached where she was, looking up at her._

"_Lyn! What do you think you're doing?" Arthur called up at her._

"_I hate this stupid long hair and this stupid dress, okay!"_

"_But… It looks pretty on you!" He managed to blurt out, biting his lip as he watched her play with the blade._

_Meanwhile, Kaitlyn's mother, Lady Maiya was just taking her daily walk when a group of young boys rushed past her._

"_What on Earth is going on?" She thought aloud._

"_Kaitlyn's going to cut off her hair!" One of them shouted in passing._

_Registering what the young boy had just revealed to her, Lady Maiya felt as though she was about to throw up but that feeling was soon washed away with anger. Picking the skirts of her dress, she followed them._

"_Kaitlyn Maiya Sienhagen, get down from that tree this instant!" She spoke to her daughter firmly._

_Kaitlyn simply stuck her tongue out, "I will. Just not yet!"_

"_Kenai! You should have stopped her!"_

"_I tried, mother. Really, I did but… You know what Kaitlyn's like. She never listens to me," he sighed, shaking his head._

_And then he felt something, or several things, land on his face, soft, fine and ticklish. Brushing them off his face, he looked up and everyone was silent._

_Arthur did his best to remove the long strands of Kaitlyn's hair from his face. Looking up, he saw her jump and land, almost gracefully in front of him, satisfied with her work. Until, of course, she tripped on the hem of her skirt. Instinctively, he held onto her, stopping her from falling. When she regained her balance, she looked up at him, smiling._

_Her hair was now shoulder length but the front was much shorter than the rest yet it framed her face perfectly._

_She looked different but he decided that he liked it._

_Maiya put her face in her right palm, shaking her head, "Stupid girl…"_

Kaitlyn felt his dry hand on hers; he'd obviously dried it using his tunic or something or the other. The sun was shining brighter and she felt warmer. She lay back onto the soft grassy ground, leaving her hand where it was, beneath his, and closed her eyes for a while, thinking… Remembering.

_It had been a few months since she'd first cut her hair and it had passed her shoulders by over an inch. And it wasn't just her hair that had changed. She'd gone against the will of, well, everyone once again; she was dressed in a fine green tunic, which brought out her eyes and dark grey, almost black, breeches and a pair of black boots, which almost reached her knees. Around her waist were her daggers and a sword. Needless to say, she drew a lot of unwanted attention. She was stood in Arthur's chambers, looking out of his window and watching the guests enter Camelot as his servant, Greg, helped him put on his armour. Today was the day many young noblemen were to complete the first phase of their training to become real knights. They had four years to prove themselves._

_A certain figure caught her attention. She beckoned Arthur towards her and pointed to that figure below, "Is that who I think it is?" She sounded surprised._

_Arthur wasn't sure whether he quite liked the tone of her voice; something about it made him feel uneasy, "It's Marcus."_

"_That very same Marcus who-"_

"_That very same Marcus who was _this _close," he held his index finger barely a millimetre away from his thumb, "to sending you poetry and flowers every day when we were kids? Yes."_

"_I was going to say the same Marcus who told me I wasn't allowed to be a knight but yes, that works too…" She mumbled, slightly embarrassed. "He looks… different."_

_No, Arthur decided he didn't like the tone of her voice at all._

_When the duo left his chambers and went to greet the guests, Kaitlyn strayed away, looking for Marcus._

_And she found him._

"_Marcus!" She smiled, approaching him._

_He looked up as a servant took his horse and luggage away and a smile appeared on his face, seeing her, "Kaitlyn? So it seems everyone was telling the truth, you really have changed a lot. Might I add, you still look beautiful."_

_She blushed a little, not used to receiving such compliments from anyone aside from Morgana, not even her mother, when he took her hand and kissed it softly._

"_You seem to have changed a lot yourself."_

_And she was right. He was taller, his body broader and he looked much stronger. He looked less like a boy and was starting to look much more like a man and like a knight. His brown hair was a little longer than it used to be, a little longer than Arthur's and parts of it fell into his eyes. He was a good-looking man, she decided._

"_Actually, I was hoping you would accompany me to tonight's feast…"_

_Kaitlyn hesitated to answer for a moment before nodding and accepting his offer. That part of their conversation, the young Pendragon had overheard and he didn't like it one bit._

He'd _been intending to ask her himself._

_That evening at the feast, Arthur watched as Marcus entered the great hall. With him was, of course, Kaitlyn, dressed in red. He gritted his teeth, keeping a straight face as though it didn't bother him at all. Who was he kidding? Of course it bothered him._

_It had been a while since he'd seen in a dress and to think Marcus was accompanying her when she looked so gorgeous was killing him inside. It was a fairly modest dress but that didn't change anything; it complimented her figure perfectly. He exhaled and managed to catch her eye. She shook her head at him and smiled, knowing how much she hated these events. It gave him some sort of satisfaction._

_That was ruined shortly when Marcus took her away. They were still in his line of sight when he led her to the balcony. He continued to drink more from his goblet, which his servant was finding he had to refill more often than usual much to his concern but he did it nonetheless._

_But when Arthur saw him take her first kiss, he did his best to make sure he didn't show any signs of anger and instead, he stood up and quietly left._

_A week later and Arthur found he was seeing Kaitlyn less and less often. But that was to be expected, yes? After all, she was spending what time she had aside from her training with Marcus. The man was Arthur's good friend but right now, he couldn't stand seeing him. It wasn't as though he and Kaitlyn had fallen out as such, she was just around far less for Arthur._

_But it wasn't just Arthur that was noticing this._

"_Arthur!" He heard Kenai call out to him. He turned away from the window in his room and faced his friend._

"_What is it?"_

"_I haven't seen Kaitlyn around. I was thinking you would know?"_

_Arthur rolled his eyes, and turned back to the window, "Ask Marcus. She seems to be spending much more time with him."_

"_You're right…" Kenai replied, frowning. Then noticing the tone of the Prince's voice, he assured him, "Don't worry about them. You're still her best friend and she still loves you."_

_And then he left._

_A few hours later, he found himself sat on the steps of the courtyard. The sun was setting and it was quiet aside from a few guards passing by every now and then. He'd been distant that day but it's not like anyone noticed much. Before all of this happened, he barely spent his time with anyone aside from Kaitlyn._

_Arthur heard footsteps beside him and then a familiar figure passed him._

"_Where are you going?" He called out to her._

_She stopped at his words and turned to face. She'd cut her hair again; it was just above her shoulders now. She looked as though she was in a rush, dressed in a blue tunic, black breeches and wearing her black cloak._

"_Actually, I'm going out for a while with Marcus…"_

_Arthur raised an eyebrow, "Lyn, who knows you're going aside from me?"_

_She shifted her eyes, "No one?"_

"_Exactly. Look-"_

_She cut him off, "Cover for me just this once?" She looked at him with pleading eyes, "Please?"_

_He should have known better than to give in but that was exactly what he did. He had absolutely no idea what had possessed him when he agreed to help her and he completely regretted it. He shouldn't have helped her because maybe things _would _have been easier for the young Pendragon then._

Kaitlyn felt something dripping onto her face and neck. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see Arthur and wiped off the droplets. He was dryer but his hair was still wet and _that_, she decided, was the source to the water dripping on her face. Much to her annoyance more droplets fell onto her face even after she had wiped it with the sleeve of her tunic. She knew Arthur was fully aware about how much it would annoy her.

"Arthur, you're still wet," she mumbled, not even bothering to wipe her face again. Her tunic was near soaked thanks to his body, which was awfully close to her own.

He smirked, pulling her up to sit yet maintaining the intimate contact he had with her and putting a damp arm around her waist, "I'm sorry."

_I'm sorry._

"_Look, I said I'm sorry! What more do you want?" The blonde was starting to get annoyed; he could feel his temper rising a little. He didn't want to be angry with her. He was leaning against the doorframe of Kaitlyn's room, one hand grasping at his hair as he watched her pace angrily in her room._

"_Nothing! Just go away!" She replied harshly without even looking at him._

"_Look, you know what you were doing was going far enough! Marcus is supposed to be a good guy but if he's going to keep misleading you like that and making you break everyone else's trust, then what do you expect will happen?"_

_She glared at him, "You hurt him really badly. And he did not mislead me, okay. I did everything out of my own accord."_

"_He deserved it. You did it because you wanted him to like you," his words were blunt._

_Kaitlyn took a few steps towards him so they were barely inches away. Her eyes were fixed on his, "It's all easy for you, Arthur Pendragon. You can behave however you like and no one cares. Sure, they all think you're a noble, innocent, caring, just Prince but I just think you're an arrogant prat, who needs to wake up and face reality. It's all too easy for you though."_

_Of course, he'd heard such similar words from so many other people, it wouldn't have bothered him. But hearing his friend say such tough words to his face hurt._

"_Lyn-"_

"_Don't call me that. Just… Get out."_

_That night, Kaitlyn received a short note, handed to her by her maid. She recognized the writing immediately. It read:_

I'm sorry.

_She sighed and held it to the candle nearest to her, watching the flames lick up the parchment._

Kaitlyn rested her head on his shoulder, regardless of the fact it was wet. Instead, her lips brushed his neck, which tickled him. As a result, he pinned her back ddown onto her back.

_She looked up and her eyes met a pair of beautiful blue ones. She leaned in and kissed him once more and felt his arms take hold of her around her waist. One hand was resting on his shoulder and the other ended up in his blonde mess of hair._

_But realizing where she was and what she was doing, she abruptly broke away._

_Noticing her sudden discomfort, he spoke, confused, "What's wrong?"_

_He played with her hair whilst she averted her eyes from his, "I shouldn't be doing this. It wouldn't be…right."_

_He frowned a little, "Since when have you cared about what was right?" He murmured, still playing with her hair._

"_Just not yet. I want to sort everything out with… Marcus," Arthur had to stop himself from rolling his eyes when she mentioned his name, "and then…"_

"_Then?"_

"_Then I'll simply have my way with you," she smirked a little seeing the expression on his face as a result of her response._

"_We'll see about that…"_

_The next afternoon Arthur woke up to find he had overslept substantially. Sitting up in bed, he ran one hand through his hair before yawning and stretching. He reached out in front of him for the blue tunic his servant had obviously laid out for him and pulled it over his head to cover his bare chest. He stopped for a moment and thought; he thought about what had happened the previous night. He thought about how long he would have to wait. He climbed out of bed slowly, shaking his head free of those thoughts when the door swung open loudly much to his surprise. He barely even had time to register what was happening as the next thing he knew was someone had pinned him back onto his bed without even giving him a chance._

_Looking up, he smiled and brought her head down to kiss her._

Kaitlyn looked up and felt more water drip onto her. She squeezed her eyes shut to avoid it getting into her eyes but as soon as she did, she felt his lips on hers for a brief moment.

"I hate you," she muttered.

He laughed, "I love you, Lyn."

A small smile played on her lips when he said those words and she let him kiss her again.


End file.
